Nays Baghai
on Underwater Storytelling and Diving into the Darkness
Diving into the darkness to find inner light!
Nays Baghai’s passion for the great underworld started when his grandmother gifted him a special edition of The Blue Planet. “That’s what I want to do when I grow up!”, he said, and that’s exactly what he is doing for a living. Giving all of us chills, not only because of the “cold” scenes he is capturing on camera but also thanks to his artistic intelligence and intuitive eye. Nays grew up into a brave soul offering underwater stories the weight they deserve.
A force pulled him to understand why humans dive in dangerous underwater environments, and what their psychological driver is. He dreamt of aurally conveying their motivations, thought processes and internal struggles. To him, psychology on film is an alchemized mix of mesmerizing images and poetic storytelling: “When you’re in the ocean, your personality has nowhere to hide.” Nays always loved being an observer, paying attention to details and sensations most people don’t give a second thought: “Freediving is such a deeply sensory experience that requires long-term stamina, self-honesty, a high tolerance for pressure, rock-solid relaxation and problem-solving skills.”
Nays Baghai is an award-winning independent film director, photographer, and underwater creative. He can dive to over 40m both with and without tanks, specialized in filming divers or big animals, reaching caves, wrecks and other environments inaccessible to recreational divers: “As a complementary activity to my film studies I started my diving training in deep, cold waters, and my non-diver friends began to question my sanity, asking why am I doing something so risky and irresponsible.”
The best thing is that these questions helped him crystallize the concept of Descent as “the psychology of people who specialize in challenging underwater environments.” His debut documentary film as a director, Descent, won the Oscar-qualifying Sydney Film, sharing the story of Kiki Bosch, the ice freediver who dives in the world’s coldest waters without a wetsuit as therapy for the trauma of sexual assault. A story that has an osmotic, inspirational effect on anyone, especially on those who come from backgrounds of trauma and/or mental illness.
Diving Into The Darkness, Nays’s remarkable and awe-inspiring odyssey about cave diving icon and Inspirator Jill Heinerth and her journey of exploration, resilience and self-discovery into the planet’s deepest depths is due to premiere this February! Stay tuned and don't miss this masterpiece!
Read Nays’s answers for Inspirators and make sure to watch his documentaries, as he will take you to places where no person has ever gone before!
Thank you, Nays, for being an Underwater Storyteller!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Nays Baghai
Company / Institution: Running Cloud Productions
Title: Founder & Creative Director; Independent Filmmaker and Underwater Creative
Website: naysbaghai.com ; runningcloudproductions.com
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nays-baghai-74b70b87/
Country of origin: Australia / Canada
Country you currently live in: Australia
Your definition of Regeneration: Combining novelty with existing knowledge and creating something that contributes positively to the world.
Main business challenge you face: Bypassing gatekeepers, bureaucracies, and outdated ways of thinking.
Main driver that keeps you going: Striving for excellence, pushing the technical and creative limits of my craft, and staying true to my values.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: Versatility.
The trait you most value in others: Trustworthiness.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: Being completely immersed in music, either as a listener or while playing my basses/guitars.
The Inspirators who determined you to take the regenerative path:
Mike DeGruy
George Lucas
Stanley Kubrick
Hans Zimmer
Christian McBride
Jill Heinerth
A starting point for companies or professionals that are beginning the regeneration journey: Be open-minded towards receiving inspiration from unexpected sources. Ensure that your integrity is bulletproof at all times.
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you: Exaggerating or conflating environmental contributions. People who are more interested in making a name for themselves than enacting positive change.
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: Think about whoever you look up to or get inspired by, and ask yourself - “What would they do?”
Books that had a great impact on you:
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Oxygen by William Trubridge
Into The Planet by Jill Heinerth
Must-Reads for any regenerative professional:
Essentialism by Greg McKeown
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
Anything You Can Imagine by Ian Nathan
Movies / Documentaries you would watch all over again:
The Godfather Parts I & II, Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring, Inception and Casino Royale.
Websites / Podcasts you visit frequently: InDepth Magazine and The Underwater Podcast.
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: Sting.
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: New Zealand, Japan and the Galapagos Islands.
Global Regenerative Voices you recommend us to follow:
Roberto Ferraro (illustrator)
Trends in Regeneration we should keep an eye on:
Being able to communicate with wild animals using unheard-of-technology;
An increased hunger for authenticity and truth in the social media you consume
A resurgence in digital minimalism.
Events we should attend / Best places for networking (online or offline):
XPrize Global Visioneering Summit.
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: The potential for vast technological improvements in healthcare, education & productivity, and an increased desire amongst humans to return to nature and escape the noise.
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: AI being abused to frightening degrees, increased cost of living and housing crises, an increased nastiness in society, and of course, climate change ravaging even more people, places and animals.
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today: Long-term thinking, generosity, courage, humility and selflessness.
The Inspirator you are endorsing for a future edition is:
Arzucan Askin
Amanda Horn
The quote that inspires you:
“Once a task has begun, never stop until it is done.
Be the labour great or small, either do it well or not at all.” (Quincy Jones)
Your quote that will inspire us:
